


And I Am Your Future, And I Am Your Past - Never Forget We Were Built To Last

by godamnarmsrace



Series: Haley's Head Canons aka @aarondingel Knows Best [3]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: 1970 Datsun 240Z, 22 April 2018, Aaron Dingle and the brotherhood of the travelling Datsun, Aaron builds Robert a car, Fluff, M/M, Mill Cottage, Robert Sugden is a massive nerd pass it on, Robert Sugden's Birthday, happy robron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 15:56:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10700274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godamnarmsrace/pseuds/godamnarmsrace
Summary: Written for@aarondingel's head canon: Aaron’s gonna find an old school car and rebuilds it for Robert as a birthday present.Set for next year's birthday Robron are happy in the Mill and Aaron finds a broken down old 1970 Datsun 240Z for Robert.





	And I Am Your Future, And I Am Your Past - Never Forget We Were Built To Last

**Author's Note:**

> Matty [@bluewinseverytime](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewinseverytime/pseuds/Bluewinseverytime) you are the best, you take my mess and make it something people can actually read ;)
> 
> The title is from Take On The World by You Me At Six
> 
> The Lovely gif was made by [@aarondingel](http://aarondingle.com) and the pictures are not mine they were taken from this [website](http://www.motortrend.com/news/thread-of-the-day-first-gen-mazda-rx-7-or-datsun-240z-352209/#1971-datusn-240z-side-in-motion-2-2).

“I know you probably don’t have anything planned for tomorrow, what with how busy you’ve been helping Cain out. I just wanted to let you know that I’m more than fine with it, I wish I could forget about it altogether, to be honest, but it is what it is. Another year older,” Robert said with a deep sigh.

Aaron almost choked on his toast. “I’d actually forgotten, sorry.” Liar. “But we should still do something, you only turn thirty-three once, right?” Aaron couldn’t help but poke the bear a little. Especially when the bear was his captivating grumpy husband.

There was the most adorable frown line between Robert’s eyes when he replied, “Thirty-two,” his words barely distinguishable from a growl.

“Oh, right well you only turn thirty-two once right, unless your Charity, I’m pretty sure she was thirty-two like three years in a row,” Aaron said watching Robert grumble some more. “But we should do something, especially since we mostly missed your thirty-first, it kind of got swallowed by everything that was happening. Breakfast?”

“Breakfast,” Robert grudgingly agreed before grinning in that way of his that just spelt trouble and mischief to Aaron. “I don’t know, I can kind of remember something about you being naked and a bow around...mef...” Aaron pressed his hand firmly to Robert’s mouth cutting off his words.

“Liv’s in the other room with Gabby, do you want the whole village to know our personal life?” Aaron hissed under his breath, scowling when Robert just grinned under his hand and took the opportunity to suck and lick Aaron’s palm making his cock twitch in his pants.

Aaron checked the clock on the wall in the kitchen, “Aren’t you going to be late for that meeting? Who arranges a meeting on a Saturday?” he asked trying to get rid of his husband (for once), but also trying to act casual before he gave something away.

“Masochists who want to keep me from dragging my sexy as fuck husband back to bed to fuck,” Robert informed him with a quick bite to his ear.

***

It shouldn’t have been as hard as it was to hide Robert’s birthday present. Yeah, okay it was kind of big but still, it was like lately everywhere Aaron went Robert was there, normally that was very convenient for when Aaron wanted to have a quickie and a kiss with his husband. But when he was trying to rebuild a 1970 Datsun 240Z, from scratch, and he had to keep moving the damn thing around the village, it was a massive pain in the arse and not the kind he usually enjoyed.

“It makes the most sense to leave it here, all the tools are here,” Aaron argued, trying to get Cain to agree to let him keep the Datsun at the garage.

“I thought you were working on it a Butler’s and using the tools over there?” Cain questioned his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow raised, making Aaron feel like a naughty kid.

‘It’s for Robert, it’s worth the hassle,’ he told himself. It had become his mantra. To Cain, he said, “I can’t work on it there anymore. Robert got sick of listening to Vic whine about Adam spending all his free time at the Farm helping his mum fix up the outbuildings, so now he’s taken it upon himself to help out.”

Cain just raised the other eyebrow.

“I know, right? Robert and manual labour. It’s super annoying when he tries to be helpful,” his tone dry, “I can’t exactly just tell him he shouldn’t help Adam out, of all people, can I? And it is only a matter of time before he stumbles upon the car, nah, it has to be moved. Please Cain, at least until I find somewhere else?” Aaron said, completely exasperated by the whole situation.

***

“You’re keeping something from me,” Robert accused one night about a month into the restoration.

Aaron didn’t know what to say. The truth was his first urge, but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. “It’s nothing important just something I’m working on,” Aaron settled on a half-truth in the end.

Robert considered his eyes and must have been happy with what he saw reflected back at him because he just asked, “Are we okay?”

“Yes, you Muppet, I love you, okay? And yes, I am keeping a little something to myself but I fully intend on telling you as soon as I’ve finished. It’s nothing bad, I promise,” Aaron answered hoping his words would be enough. “Is there anything you need to tell me?”

Aaron’s stomach twisted when his husband suddenly looked guilty.

“Actually, there is, this morning I knocked your toothbrush into the toilet,” Robert confessed, ducking his head.

“You what? I just used that toothbrush to clean my fucking teeth, Robert!” Aaron yelled, fighting the urge to gag.

Robert’s shoulders were shaking from the force of his laughter, “I replaced it earlier, same colour and everything.”

Aaron punched his husband none too softly on the arm. “I hate you sometimes,” he said in response and they both heard the lie in his words.

Maybe he should keep the car for himself.

***

Living with Robert had opened Aaron’s eyes to how many weird things his husband was interested in, crazy shirts and jackets with elbow patches were the least of it.

After they moved into the Mill, strange little dolls (’They’re action figures Aaron!’) along with more books and DVDs than Aaron knew what to do with, started to creep into the house. One day a shelf in the living room would be mostly bare and the next time Aaron looked it would have a stack of books or something on it that just appeared when he wasn’t looking.

After a few weeks of this Aaron finally gave in and asked his husband where all of the stuff was coming from.

“I have a storage unit in Hotten,” Robert said with a shrug of his shoulders like that explained everything.

“I don’t understand?” Aaron asked he needed a little bit more of an explanation than that.

Robert shrugged again and replied, “Well, I never could have had any of my things at Home Farm, so, when we moved back to the village I moved my stuff from my old storage unit to one in Hotten but I just thought that…I mean …well Mill is my home, our home, I didn’t think you’d mind if I brought some of my personal stuff here.”

“I don’t care, I just don’t understand Robert.  Why couldn’t you have had any of your stuff at Home Farm?”

“You think Chrissie would have wanted any of this in her house?” Robert asked the reference to Home Farm being her house and not their home was all Aaron needed to understand why Robert had kept his little treasures hidden. And they were little treasures, at least to Aaron they were because each one was something Robert loved and wanted to share with Aaron.

Now, did Aaron enjoy sitting through five hours of Robert’s favourite Anime, not so much, but he did love spending that time watching Robert’s face light up like a little kid and get all excited when he explained some ‘important’ back-story to anyone who'd listen. Aaron really enjoyed having his husband’s arms around him, he loved listening to Robert’s heart beating under his cheek. He savoured the feel of every kiss Robert pressed against his skin in appreciation of Aaron being willing to share this with him.

***

It was nothing really, less than nothing just a shell of what it had once been but Aaron recognised it from one of the many car books Robert had cluttered their shelves with, “They’re not just cars Aaron,” he’d said sounding like a petulant child. “They’re ‘the’ cars. All the ones I’ve ever wanted to own. True things of mechanical and automotive beauty, every single one.”

The family hadn't wanted to keep it, it was just an old piece of junk that their dad had left behind for them to get rid of. As the daughter offered Aaron top dollar to take it and all the other scrap metal way, he couldn’t help but get a little excited at the prospect because he could see the potential. He could see what it used to be, what it was meant to be and what it could be again with a bit of hard work and a lot of love. Aaron could see Robert’s face when Aaron gave it to him, one of his dream cars. It wasn't like Chrissie throwing money at Robert, buying him toys, but rather building something from nothing, with all his blood, sweat and tears it took, something that Aaron knew wouldn’t just be a car to Robert but rather a symbol of so much more.

Aaron had plenty of love for Robert, he could spare a little to fix this car for him. It was Robert’s birthday in a couple of months and this would be the perfect gift.

***

Aaron waited until he knew Robert was at the scrap-yard doing paperwork before sneaking around in his own house like a burglar. He knew exactly what he was looking for he just needed to remove the books from the house without his husband noticing them missing. Robert must have moved them around because it took Aaron almost twenty minutes of searching the Mill to find Robert’s copies of the 1970 Datsun 240Z owners manual and mechanics guide that he owned, Aaron found them shoved between a copy of The Walking Dead: Compendium One and a copy of Ann of Green Gables.

Aaron didn’t take the time to question his husband's eclectic reading habits, he was used to them by now, a different book on the bedside table each week and a very frequent lecture about how Aaron should read more. But it usually ended in Robert taking pity on him and telling him about the plot of his latest book, before taking him nice and slow in their bed.

Aaron headed to their barn, their secret meeting place where Aaron was now currently hiding Robert’s gift.  The car was almost finished, he just needed to check the specs and his work. This was the third time he’d stolen Robert’s books without him realising and Aaron hoped it would be the last.

Who knew lying to his husband would be so hard? The urge to take the car for a test drive was strong but Aaron couldn’t risk that Robert might see him and the car, so he had to be content to let the car rev and run in the confines of their special place and just hope that Robert didn’t choose this day of all days to be nostalgic.

***

“We don’t want a repeat of last year, if I don’t leave now I’ll miss the bus,” Liv said rushing out the front door.

“But it’s a Sunday!” Robert shouted clearly disappointed by Liv’s exit.

Aaron took pity on his husband. “She knows it’s Sunday, I think she’s just giving us some alone time, she's off into town with Gabby. I'm meant to take you over to the pub for breakfast with everyone after were done here. She’ll be waiting for us there,” Aaron said sitting down next to his husband at the kitchen table. He picked up a brightly coloured present and passed it to his husband.

Aaron watched as Robert unwrapped the handmade book, the confused look on his face making Aaron smile. He put his hands in the pocket of his hoodie and closed them around the keys he had hidden there.

“Thanks,” Robert said reaching out to pull Aaron in by the back of his neck for a quick kiss. “I really love this car,” Robert said tapping the picture on the front cover.

Aaron smiled and gave his husband another kiss pressing their lips together for just another brief moment. “I know, we’ll have a look at it then,” Aaron replied gesturing to the book Robert held in his hands.

“Now?” Robert questioned looking confused as to why Aaron was insisting he look at the book when there was a pile of gifts still waiting to be opened on the table.

Aaron nodded and watched as Robert turned each page slowly starting with a picture of the rusted old shell that was nothing more than scrap metal really. Each page held a photographic image of the progress Aaron had made; first came the missing body parts, then the interior body: the restored seats, the instrument panel, the rust repair and then the new paint job and lastly the engine and mechanics of the cars and the wheels. Aaron held his breath when Robert got to the last page of the book a picture of the finished vehicle inside their barn with Aaron leaning against it in his overalls, holding out the keys in an offering.

Robert looked Aaron his eyes shiny with tears and his eyebrows lifted in question. Aaron pulled the keys out of his pocket and placed them gently on the table before his husband. He waited until Robert had looked down at the keys, watched as his husband picked them up and held them in his hand for a second before returning Aaron’s gaze.

“Happy Birthday Robert,” Aaron said with a smile, letting himself be pulled into his husband’s embrace.

“This is a car? Did you build me a car? You built me a fucking 1970 Datsun 240Z from nothing?” Robert questioned, both hands cupping Aaron’s face. “You built me a fucking car,” he whispered disbelief in every word as he brought his lips against Aaron’s.

Aaron nodded against his husband’s lips, “Yes,” he whispered. “I built you a car. Happy Birthday, Mr Dingle, I love you so much.”

Robert had tears in his eyes but a smile on his face, he buried his face against Aaron’s neck. “I love you so much. I’ve never felt so loved. You love me. You built me a car.” It was a whispered admission of unadulterated awe.

“I built you a car,” Aaron confirmed. “Do you want to go and see it now? Before we join everyone else at The Woolpack?”

Robert shook his head, “Yes...I mean no, not yet afterwards, after you take me upstairs, get naked and tell me all about how you fucking built me a car,” Robert pulled Aaron out of his seat and towards the spiral staircase.

Aaron pushed Robert up against the bannister and pressed a kiss to the side of Robert’s face and said, “Well, first I had to find a new front end because the old one was incomplete and full of rust.”

Robert moaned and pressed his hard cock against Aaron’s. “Tell me more,” he moaned thrusting against him a couple of times before dragging Aaron up the stairs to their room.


End file.
